


My Best Man's an Idiot

by RainTeaandDragons



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-23
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2017-12-21 04:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/895814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainTeaandDragons/pseuds/RainTeaandDragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story where Arthur finds love and Merlin puts his foot in it...again...and again. Consists of a disaster wedding and plenty of banter between two unlikely friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Modern AU that I am writing for Merlin in the form of a Romantic Comedy. I haven't really written anything in this style before so I hope I do an OK job of it. Enjoy :)  
> ~Fran x

"Good morning 10-G, today we welcome a new student." Mr Gaius said as he gestured for the rather short and skinny boy next to him to stand forward. The boy had pale white skin, jet black hair, wide blue eyes and a pair of abnormally large, sticky-out ears. The boy stepped forward and was so nervous he managed to trip over his own feet and would've fallen flat on his face if it hadn't been for Mr Gaius's steadying hand. "This is Merlin Emrys; Merlin your seat is at the back there, at the desk next to Arthur."

The boy, now identified as Merlin, nodded and then walked slowly the back and sat down, followed by whispers and harsh sniggers all the way. He tried not to make eye contact with anyone as he walked down between the desks; when Merlin sat down Arthur didn't even acknowledge him apart from a fleeting glance. From the safety of the back of the room Merlin scanned the faces looking for anyone who seemed friendly. After his only friend will had taken his own life, Merlin had had a hard time making friends and had moved schools. He felt a rush of relief run through him as dark haired girl turned and smiled at him when Gaius was facing the board. Merlin smiled shyly back at her, glad to know that there was at least one friendly person in the class; though Merlin gathered that Arthur, on the other hand, wasn't the nicest of guys.

Merlin learnt soon enough that his original assumption was correct; Arthur was the bully of the year and with his father being the principal of the school that made Arthur even worse. The girl who had smiled at him though on his first day tuned out to be Merlin's closest friend at the school; her name was Gwen and she had a twin brother, Elyan, who disliked Arthur just as much as Merlin (who Arthur had taken a fancy to teasing) and Gwen (who hated how Arthur treated most of the people in their year) did. Elyan was nice enough and meant well but was a truant and had a reputation for causing trouble; he was much the opposite of Gwen who got good marks in all her subjects and could sew a dress with her eyes closed.

~O~O~O~

It wasn't until one day at the end of Year 10 when Merlin decided that he'd had enough of Arthur bullying him and most of the rest of the year. Arthur was in the gym shooting hoops with the basketball. He was getting a year seven to collect them for him and when he didn't do it quick enough Arthur would throw a ball at him. Though the year seven was pretty good at dodging them but he still got hit a few times and when they did, it hurt a lot.

Ignoring the glare he got from Arthur, Merlin sauntered into the gym, "That's enough now. I think you've had your fun my friend." Merlin smiled at his class mate hoping that he wouldn't get a punch for his troubles. Arthur was a good size bigger than him and Merlin knew that if a fight started then he would definitely come out worse.

"Do I talk to you?" Came Arthur's sneering reply. The year seven, now quite forgotten because of Merlin's outburst, slipped out the back door of the gym.

"No."

"And yet you called me friend?" Arthur replied smoothly. He took two steps towards the smaller boy and had him in a headlock before Merlin could even blink. "It's Merlin isn't it?" He growled.

Merlin nodded quickly before stamping on Arthur's foot and walking two paces back as the blonde released him. Merlin grinned, quite proud of his chosen tactic, that was at least until Arthur picked up a basketball and lobbed it at Merlin's head. Merlin ducked and picked up another ball, he threw it as hard as he could at Arthur's stomach. Arthur dodged it and threw another just as the sports coach entered the room.

"Pendragon, Emrys. What are you doing?" The harsh sounding voice came from behind them. Both boys turned around silently, each waiting for the other to speak. "I'll tell you what you're doing; detention, now, my office. You will both stay there until you work out your differences and I come back." Merlin and Arthur followed the teacher up to his office where he indicated for them both to sit. That they did but not without glaring at the other and crossing their arms in unison. The coach left, closing the door behind him with a resounding clunk.

It was a while before Merlin took in a deep breath and turned to Arthur, he held out his hand for Arthur to shake. "Hello, I'm Merlin." Merlin was surprised to feel Arthur's firm hand in his smaller one, they shook hands.

"Arthur." Arthur said gruffly, as if he hadn't really done this sort of thing before.

"Glad to meet you Arthur."

"You too," Arthur smiled playfully, and then added as an afterthought, "Idiot."

Merlin grinned widely, "Pratt."

That handshake was the beginning of an unlikely friendship. Arthur's bullying habit eventually eased off under the guidance of Merlin and Gwen. Arthur though, always had a special tease ready for Merlin and Merlin…well he always had the perfect retort, meaning their banter would usually go on for ages. Arthur and Merlin stayed friends all throughout high school and university much to the surprise of Gwen and Elyan. The twins eventually befriended Arthur as well, and the group became rather close. Soon enough Arthur developed a thing for Gwen and they dated for a while before the couple broke up at the end of year twelve; something to do with Gwen cheating on Arthur with Lancelot. Gwen cheating on Arthur was something that was only ever a rumor but that was the last time Arthur and Merlin saw the twins for a very long time.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story where Arthur finds love and Merlin puts his foot in it...again...and again. Consists of a disaster wedding and plenty of banter between two unlikely friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Modern AU that I am writing for Merlin in the form of a Romantic Comedy. I haven't really written anything in this style before so I hope I do an OK job of it.  
> The story is in the present now...and I hope you enjoy what I have done to make the modern AU as it was really fun to write! :)  
> ~Fran x

_~ 2013 ~_

A resounding slap echoed through the restaurant as Merlin hit the smaller pile of cards for the second time that game (their third game for the night), "Yes!" He cried out gleefully as he shuffled the smaller pack of cards neatly into his hands, he quickly dealt them out in front of him on the table. Merlin grinned at Arthur's groan as his friend gathered up the considerably larger pile of cards.

Arthur swallowed back another shot of Vodka and re-dealt out his cards. "I will win this time!" He stated, grinning slyly at his friend who was a good deal more sober but still wasn't thinking as clearly as usual. He made eye contact with Merlin before they both turned over a card and began slapping the corresponding cards down onto the piles.

Leon sauntered into the back room of Pendragon's Pizza to see his two co-workers madly slapping cards onto the table, a bottle of vodka and shot glasses next to them. The blonde's fingers seemed to be a little sloppier than Merlin's who appeared to be doing all right. "You two aren't playing 'Shot Spit' again are you?" He frowned disapprovingly, thinking about how the two men would feel in the morning.

In answer Arthur triumphantly slapped the smaller pile of cards with his hand, having got rid of all his cards. Merlin let his forehead fall to the table as Arthur poured him another shot, "Drink up idiot," Arthur teased, pushing the small glass towards his friend.

"Pratt." Merlin mumbled into his arm before sitting up and drinking the alcohol. "Course!" Merlin said to Leon slowly as he dealt the cards out on the table in front of him. They started that round of the game and by the end of it Merlin had slapped the table, winning the game and letting his fist pump the air. From the iPod speakers the Queen song, We Are The Champions came on and Merlin began to sing very loudly to it, a huge grin spreading across his face as Arthur joined in, each occasionally getting the lyrics wrong and hastily correcting themselves.

"Ok then…" Leon trailed off, slightly embarrassed by his friends antics, he grabbed the phone from its dock and dialed the taxi's number. "I'm calling you guys a taxi and you better be ready when it comes. I will see you two, tomorrow at your gig Merlin." He said giving Merlin a pat on the shoulder and leaving the restaurant.

"Goodbye Leon." The two slightly drunk men said in unison, watching him leave the room before splitting into peals of laughter. They slowly packed up the cards and the drink best they could before they then grabbed their coats and left the restaurant locking the door behind them and singing 'We Are The Champions' all the way.

~O~O~O~

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Merlin groaned into his pillow and let his hand fall vaguely where he had left his alarm clock to turn it off. Accidentally pressing the wrong button he turned on his radio which was now playing the song 'Call Me Maybe', Merlin ran a hand over his eyes before he pressed another button and the radio finally turned off. He breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to sit up slowly, the head ache then registered in his skull and he let himself fallback against his pillow, eyes staring at the ceiling.

"Remember Merlin, this is what happened last time you played 'Shot Spit' with Arthur. Immovable head ache and every noise is as loud as fireworks." He groaned internally, today was going to be very, very long…and he had the gig that night. Eventually Merlin managed to drag himself out of bed and got dressed into a pair of blue jeans and his 'Queen Silhouette' t-shirt. The shirt hung loosely while the jeans were of the skinny design; Merlin's thin frame could pull off the style and it was the kind of thing he wore quite a lot. Merlin loped into the kitchen of the small flat and threw a few pieces of bread into the toaster before pulling out a plate and knife. Merlin hummed Bohemian Rhapsody to himself as he scanned the shelf for the Marmite to spread on his toast. Finally the toast popped as he was making himself a mug of hot tea and tapping out a tune on the bench top with his fingers. Once he had finished most of his breakfast he pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed Arthur's number. He expected his friend to still be asleep but he needed to talk to him and Arthur would need to wake up eventually.

~O~O~O~

Arthur almost wacked the phone of his bedside table as the familiar ringtone for his friend Merlin pulled him out of his sleep, he nearly didn't answer but then reconsidered. _Merlin has probably broken the toaster and wants to borrow mine,_ he sighed _, and for him that would possibly be the end of the world._ Grumbling Arthur answered the phone, "Merlin. What is it?"

" _Thought you should be awake now Arthur."_

Arthur could almost hear his friend grinning on the other end of the line, "You called me at 9:33amto tell me I should be awake?"  _Well he definitely succeeded in his plan…not that I am going to tell him._

" _Yup."_

"Right Merlin if you nothing of importance to say, than I am going back to sleep."

" _No, no, no…come on. You're awake now. And I thought I should remind you that I am doing my first gig at the local pub tonight so if you wanted to bring a girl or someone. Do come." He paused, "I'd love the support!"_

"How could I forget?" Arthur asked dryly, "…but I will definitely be there tonight. Don't worry!"

" _Awesome thank you! Anywho…got to go, so I will see you tonight then."_

"Goodbye Merlin." Arthur replied pointedly.

" _See you Pratt." Merlin replied jokingly._

"Idiot." Arthur hung up the phone and flopped back onto the pillow.  _Will he ever get bored of waking me up at unnecessary hours?_

 _No._ The voice in his head had replied and Arthur groaned internally. Pulling himself out of bed Arthur threw on his jogging gear and grabbed a muesli bar from the cupboard, _if I have to be awake at this time I may as well do something useful_. Arthur then locked the door and made his way down the stairs of his block of flats at a jog, as he passed Merlin's door a smile crossed his face as the familiar sound of his friend playing his guitar drifted through the door. The blonde clipped his iPod to his shorts and pressed play for his 'You're Finally Doing Exercise' playlist before jogging out the glass doors at the front of his building.

Exercise for Arthur was like music for Merlin, it had the same cleansing effect on a hangover. It was a surprise that Merlin didn't gain weight but he had one of those metabolisms that everyone – including Arthur – got jealous of. Arthur half wished that he could eat and drink as much as he liked and it have no affect on his body what so ever but part of him loved to exercise and without that, what would he do with all that energy?

When Arthur finally returned back to his flat he found Merlin had slipped a flyer for his gig that night under the door. Rolling his eyes Arthur pinned the slip of paper on the fridge with a magnet and went to have a much needed shower. Eventually Arthur was toweling his blonde hair dry in front of the mirror, a second towel covering his bottom half. He pulled on a pair of shorts and was wondering the house in just that looking for the shirt he wanted to wear when he heard his front door open and then Merlin's footsteps in the hall. Arthur found his shirt and was pulling it on just as Merlin entered the kitchen, finely dressed as always his friend opened his fridge and began to rummage through its contents.

"Don't happen to have any salad dressing do you?" Merlin asked from inside the fridge, "I am making lunch and salad without dressing is something close to a crisis!"

Arthur stared incredulously at the black mass of hair and the blue eyes that followed as it bobbed above the fridge door, "You know I gave you that spare key for emergencies?" He began but Merlin interrupted.

"It was an emergency…pratt." Merlin frowned before repeating the question. "Salad dressing?"

"Of course dim wit, I just don't know where."

"For a professional chef Arthur, your fridge really is a mess."  _Though I have to admit, the one at the restaurant is pristine clean and extremely organized._  "Got it!" Merlin cried out, proudly brandishing the bottle in his hand. "Mind if I borrow it? I'll bring it back." He stuck out his bottom lip and put on his puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, but don't drop the bottle." Arthur replied calmly, feeling slightly amused by his friends antics.

"Thanks!" Merlin said before dancing out the door and closing it behind him with a clunk.

Arthur sank into the old lounge chair with a sigh of relief,  _peace at last_ , he thought,  _or at least until the gig tonight._  Even if he wouldn't admit it Arthur really was exited for Merlin and his band, the idiot would have a great time that night and, although Arthur didn't know it, so would he.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A story where Arthur finds love and Merlin puts his foot in it...again...and again. Consists of a disaster wedding and plenty of banter between two unlikely friends.

Arthur tapped his hand on his leg to the beat of the song, Merlin's voice was deep and smooth when he sang yet at the same time he managed to keep the tone upbeat. Who wouldn't be able to tap along to something like that? The small crowd were cheering and clapping and even singing along to some of the familiar covers. The versions of the songs that Merlin sang were usually pitched lower with Freya harmonizing the high bits but that didn't stop the songs from being recognizable.

Up on stage Merlin let his guitar hang from his neck and was setting up a clapping beat with the crowd. All shyness gone, he grinned widely at Arthur, he knew his friend loved this song; on the beat he put his mouth to the microphone and whispered, "Go." The beat jazzed up a bit and Freya started on the piano. He waited for the crowd to start clapping along and the cue before he began to sing:

"Boring is batshit, you people make me feel so curious and I don't know why you think you'll end up in the sky. Happy as Larry and riding sheep on clouds well I'd prefer your enthusiasm while you're here with me." Merlin watched happily as Arthur got up and began clapping to the beat along with everyone else.

"So stop. Don't get carried away-ay-ay," Merlin turned grinning to Freya who smiled back, "Darling don't you understand that every time we wave our hands we're cool. We're fuckin amazing. We dropped down from some other dimension just to be with you…"

It was as if the whole pup counted the three beats to the chorus before most of the people there began to sing along, "Don't stress, that's dumb, I'm here and it's nice to be alive. Chill out, it's alright, kiss me, it's nice to be alive."

On the last "It's nice to be alive!" Arthur let out a cheer with the crowd and clapped with the rest a huge grin on his face as he watched his friend's reaction to the atmosphere in the small room.

"Ok so that was a cover of Ball Park Music's, It's Nice to be Alive. The next song we are going to do it's a personal favourite for the four of us and I am sure it's a song every single one of you will know." He indicated to the band behind him to start playing and right on cue the familiar beat filled everyone's ears and Merlin began to sing: "This thing called love I just can't handle it, this thing called love I must get round to it, I ain't ready, crazy little thing called love."

The small crowd erupted into a cheer for the Queen song, Arthur grinned, it was one of Merlin's favourite Queen songs and he knew the rest of the band loved it too. As he was clapping along to the beat he caught the eye of a nice looking woman, she had long curly blonde hair and light blue eyes, Arthur smiled at her and went over to her. He had always been a little confident around women, whereas Merlin was the complete opposite, though his friend got away with that for being so adorable, and the fact he could sing.

Arthur introduced himself in the down beat of the song, "Hi, I'm Arthur." He smiled warmly at her, as he began to dance a little again, "Vivian!" She replied, returning the smile shyly and began to dance as well.

"I gotta be cool relax, get hip, get on my track's. Take a back seat, hitch-hike and take a long ride on my motor bike. Until I'm ready, crazy little thing called love." Merlin saw his friend begin to dance with the blonde and a smile spread over his face as he sang the next lyrics. His favorite part of the song was coming up and he knew, though Arthur didn't like to admit it, he liked to dance to that part.

The beat picked up and Will and Gwaine started the instrumental, as the beat slowed and came through the melody Merlin began to sing again, his low voice strong and seductive. "I gotta be cool relax, get hip, get on my track's, take a back seat, hitch-hike and take a long ride on my motor bike, until I'm ready." Merlin winked, "Crazy little thing called love."

As Merlin continued to sing he saw out of the corner of his eye Arthur and the blond dancing together until the last 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' when Arthur led her over to the bar. Merlin felt a smile cross his face before he had some quiet words with Freya, Will and Gwaine. Freya was to sing the main part on this song so she was the one to announce it, she took a step forward and Merlin took a step back with a smile, "So the next song we will cover is a relatively new song, it's originally by Of Monsters and Men, called King and Lionheart. This will probably be the last song for the night but we will have to see!" Freya smiled warmly and then Merlin and Will started on the guitar and soon enough Freya's sweet voice filled the pup with Merlin doing the harmonies, and Gwaine creating the beat.

Down at the bar Arthur and Vivian were talking and laughing together, "So you're only here for a visit?" Arthur asked curiously with a smile on his face.

"Yes, I am only here for another week, to be honest I find this town pretty dull. I will probably only staying here for another few days." She flipped her hair behind her neck with her hand, "I live in London and small towns don't seem to be for me at all." She said a little bluntly.

"Oh," Was all Arthur could reply with, he was shocked, and he couldn't understand how someone could be so blunt and rude but also change tone so quickly. "I am sorry to hear that, I love it here, it's quiet and we all know each other rather well. What do you think of the band?"

"Honestly? I don't really like them; they're lacking something I think. The skinny dark haired one doesn't seem to be able to sing too well, does he?" She laughed coolly, still smiling at Arthur who was trying not to look too shocked. "Well I'd better be off; I can't stand this racket any longer. Coming?"

"Matter of fact I rather like them," Arthur grimaced, "And 'the skinny dark haired one' as you say, happens to be my friend." Arthur replied with ice in his tone. "And I usually take kindly to people being rude about my friends, so I'll decline your offer. Thank you." Arthur frowned at the shrug of Vivian's shoulders, the blonde left without any further words. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the stage where Merlin was thanking the crowd for their enthusiasm and taking a bow with Will, Gwaine and Freya. Arthur joined in the applause as Merlin and the band filed off the stage, huge grins on their faces.

Merlin led them over to where Arthur was sitting at the bar, two drinks were there; one of which didn't even look like it had been drunk, the other half full and in Arthur's hand. "Heya Arthur!" Merlin grinned widely.

Merlin's smile was infectious, so Arthur's mood quickly left, "Hello! Gwaine, Will, Freya. You guys were great! Oh and Merlin, you were alright…" Arthur joked.

They all laughed at this and Merlin gave Arthur a friendly punch on the shoulder, "Thanks mate." He knew Arthur's teasing sense of humour very well, "Where'd the blonde go?" He asked curiously, not having seen her storm off.

"She may have been beautiful, but she was incredibly rude." Arthur said ruefully, "Do you guys want to grab some drinks? I am sure we could all stay for a little longer before you have to pack up." He grinned changing the subject as he didn't want to tell his friends about what Vivian had said.

"Why not?" Gwaine said, he was always up for a drink, and probably always had more than he should have but that wasn't a problem for him. He turned to Will and Freya, "You two going to stay as well?"

"Yeah, course mate." Will grinned at Gwaine's enthusiasm and turned to Freya, waiting for her reply.

Not intimidated by being surrounded by guys Freya replied, "Love to!" She grinned at Merlin, pulling her long wavy brown hair round the side of her neck, she fancied him a little though there was no way she was going to tell him. Little did she know that everyone but Merlin had knowledge of her feelings for him and wanted her to do something about it, also that Merlin had feelings for her too.

"Awesome," Merlin smiled back at Freya, "I'll order and you can find us a table what do you guys want?" Merlin listened as his friends riled of the list of drinks, plus a bowl of hot chips for Gwaine. A while after Merlin had ordered he was carrying a tray of drinks over to his friends, he managed to stumble when Freya smiled at him just as he got to the table and only just got the tray onto the wood before the drinks went everywhere, luckily enough all drinks stayed in the glasses. Merlin blushed tomato red and slid into the spare seat next to Freya.

"Well that was silly wasn't it Merlin? Though truth be told, anyone else would have gone fine without stumbling." He teased and grinned at Merlin's reaction which was to theatrically bury his face in his hands.

"Sorry." He grumbled into his hands and felt a shiver of electricity run through him as Freya patted him to the shoulder. He looked up at her with a smile before handing the drinks out to the respective owners.

By the end of the night Freya was asleep on Merlin's shoulder, and Merlin had his arm around her. Merlin seemed very happy with how the night had turned out, what with the success of the band and Freya falling asleep on his shoulder. Arthur got up to get the bill and split it with an insistent Will, who said 'Arthur always paid, and that he wanted to pay for a change.' As they were leaving Merlin gave Freya a kiss on the cheek as opposed to the usual hug. Both friends smiled shyly at each other while the rest of the group looked smug; they knew it had to have happened eventually. The group walked their different ways with only Merlin and Arthur staying together for the walk home. "You really were great tonight you know Merlin? Not just with the band but with Freya too."

Merlin grinned sheepishly, "Thanks." He replied then frowned, "You know don't you?"

"Of course we know, idiot!" Arthur paused then said, "You aren't exactly subtle!"

"Oh…" Merlin then suddenly looked alarmed, "You don't think she knows?"

"Nope, but you should ask her out. I think she likes you…don't know why though." He joked, grinning at his friend.

"Hey!" Merlin yelped in indignation.

Arthur laughed, "See you tomorrow, idiot." He said endearingly as he reached the door of his flat.

"Yep, see you tomorrow pratt!" Merlin replied instantly as he unlocked the door to his flat and walked inside. He was seriously considering asking Freya out, if he could find the courage and the right moment that was.


	4. Chapter 3

When Merlin woke that morning he could feel the blanket twisted around him and the second pillow, he found when he opened his eyes, was being held over his head by his own hands. Apparently he'd had a restless night, but with no real reason why he decided not to dwell on that fact. He pulled the pillow of his face and let his blurry eyes fall on the clock; his eyes widened as he realized the time and rubbed his hands over his face.  _That can't be right,_ he thought, _I never wake after 10:00am!_ Now fully awake Merlin jumped out of bed and in catching sight of his own self in the mirror had to do a double take. His usually sleek hair was sticking up everywhere in spikes, literally everywhere.  _Right…shower first, breakfast after._ He told himself sternly, ignoring the growl of his stomach.

It was as the hot water ran down his body and he rubbed the shampoo into his hair that he remembered the gig from the night before. A wide grin spread over his face as he remembered the crowd's reaction and how much fun the band had had, performing and after with Arthur in the pub. Freya. A sigh passed his lips as battle with his nerves, what Arthur had told him was perfectly true.  _We really like each other, it's just we're both too shy to do anything about it. Plus, they all know._ "Damn it!" he muttered,  _I really need to do something about this._ Suddenly through the hot water Merlin felt the cold water flowing over his body as well, he'd been thinking too much in the shower and the water had gone cold. Again. He quickly washed out the shampoo and turned off the water. Having somehow washed the shampoo suds into his eyes he groped blindly for the towel. When he found the soft material Merlin brought it first to his face before drying off the rest of his body and wrapping the towel around his waist.

Just as he had got dressed and was toweling his thick black hair dry Merlin heard the frustratingly familiar sound of his mobile phone. He dived for the small device and clicked the button to answer. "Merlin speaking." He said in a mock formal voice.

" _Hello Merlin this is Morgana." Merlin could hear her trying not to laugh at the other end of the line, "I need a favour of you dear."_

Merlin grinned, and changed his tone before speaking again, "What is it?"

" _I need to talk to my dear brother and he's not answering his phone!" She sighed in frustration, "Were you two out again last night because he usually answers his phone." She paused, "Even when he's asleep."_

"Ahhh, right. Yeah, we were, I had the first gig with my band last night and Arthur joined us to watch. He met someone."

" _Did he now? Pray tell." Morgana requested eagerly, quite forgetting the 'favour' she needed of Merlin._

"Didn't last long," Merlin chuckled. "He said something about her being extremely and unnecessarily rude."

" _Oh," Morgana sounded disappointed, "Oh well, I have something I need to talk about with him so could you be a dear and go and wake him up." There was silence at the other end of the line and Morgana could practically hear Merlin's eyebrows raising. "He's only across the hall…"_

"My pleasure Morgana." Merlin replied slyly, "I'll go over now."

" _Don't be too mean Merlin." Morgana pleaded, "I want to be able to have a sane conversation with him after."_

"No problem. Talk to you later." Merlin asked

" _Course! I'm bringing a friend to the restaurant tonight." Morgana laughed, "I assume you'll be there waiting on tables."_

"Yes, and attracting all the best customers!" He joked.

" _Sure Merlin, sure. See you tonight then!"_

"Bye." Merlin hung up the phone with a click of a button and threw it onto the bed. He grabbed his and Arthur's flat keys from the kitchen bench on his way out and let the door click shut behind him. Merlin sauntered over to Arthur's door and unlocked it. He moved quietly through the flat towards the bedroom and slipped through the door. Merlin checked Arthur was actually in bed and asleep before striding over to the window and tugging open the curtains. "Rise and shine!" Merlin said sarcastically and was satisfied with the groan that passed through Arthur's lips.

"Merrrlinnnn." Arthur groaned into the pillow he was face down in. He propped himself up on his elbow, and glared at Merlin through a squinting gaze.

"Not a convincing glare there Arthur; bit early for you is it, though it is quarter to eleven." Merlin joked, staring down the glare, "Morgana called, she wanted me to be your personal alarm clock seeing as you didn't answer your phone."

"And you obliged?" Arthur slurred out, his mind still riddled with sleep.

"With pleasure, she said she had something she needed to tell you. I'll make you some tea and then I must be off."

"Sounds good," Arthur sat up and pushed his fringe out of his eyes, "Where are you going?" He asked but realized that Merlin had already gone off to make him tea. Arthur sighed and reached for the phone.  _Two missed calls,_ he thought,  _this must be important. That…and I must have had more to drink than I thought last night to sleep through my alarm and my phone._ Both were from Morgana, he hit the dial button just as Merlin brought in the tea and mimed 'got to go, see you later' before heading out the door.

" _Good to know you've woken up, Arthur." Morgana greeted her brother._

"Nice to talk to you too." He replied sarcastically. "What is it that is so important that you had to send Merlin in to wake me up?" Arthur took a sip of the scolding hot tea and flinched, _maybe wait a while before you drink that Arthur,_ he told himself.

" _He woke you up the curtain way didn't he?"_

"Why…what…how can you tell?" Arthur queried.

" _You aren't as angry as you were last time."_

"Well he did tip a cup of ice cold water all over my face; in my books that gives me the right to get angry!"

" _Anyway, moving on…Arthur I have someone coming to the restaurant tonight with me, a friend of mine. You may remember her from high school, her name's Gwen."_

"Was she the one who cheated on me with Lance?"

" _Yes but that was years ago and she didn't even cheat. Lance spread a rumor because he disliked the way that someone with your bullying history could have friends like Merlin and Gwen. Harsh I know but it's the truth, so be civil and I think you'd like her now, she really wants to talk to you and Merlin again."_

"You sure?" Arthur said cautiously, feeling a little shocked and put out.

" _Hundred percent. And don't tell Merlin she's going to be there, we want it to be a surprise."_

"Of course, it'll be hilarious to see his face." Arthur laughed, trying to cover up how unsure he felt about the whole idea.

" _Great! I'll see you tonight."_

"Yeah bye!" Arthur replied and hung up the phone.  _I think I probably need to have a shower._ He thought before swinging his legs off the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

~O~O~O~

Merlin strode into the local music shop, and instantly walked over to the guitar rack. He coveted the look of the vintage style acoustic guitar. Though he did love his own guitar, that trusty instrument was the one he had saved up for in his final year of high school and he loved it to bits, but there was something beautiful about the collection of guitars in that old music shop. The shop keeper knew him well, Merlin was in that shop a few times a week and Kilgarrah had given Merlin some guidance with his music over the years, also Merlin had slowly made a friendship with Kilgarrah's daughter Aithusa. She, like Merlin, wrote and played music, but she played the piano. Just as Merlin had taken down a guitar from the rack and sat down on one of the stools that were scattered throughout the small room, Merlin heard someone call his name from behind him.

"Merlin! Fancy meeting you here." Freya grinned widely and was overjoyed when Merlin greeted her with a hug. "What are you here for?"

"Hello Freya, I was just about to ask you the same thing," He smiled, "But you know, I like it here and I was going to test out the new acoustic Kilgarrah brought in yesterday."

"No surprise there," Freya smiled shyly, "I just wanted to come and look through the collection of old records again." She smiled as she spoke,  _really I knew you were here, I just wanted to see you,_ she thought. "Why don't you play me something?"

Merlin chewed at the corner of his lip, "Maybe…I…" He usually would, but with Freya, all confidence went out the window and he not nervous.

"Please…" She put on the puppy dog eyes.

"Ok then…" Merlin gave in, "What do you want me to play?"

"You choose." She replied, dragging over another stool and sitting down next to him, but slightly in front, facing him with a look of adoration on her face.

Merlin licked his lips slightly as he thought of what he could play; he then strummed a few notes to check the guitar was in tune before starting to play the familiar tune. He watched as Freya's face split into a smile and he felt a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth as well before he started to sing.

"There's no combination of words I could put on the back of a post card, no song that I could sing but I could try for your heart." Merlin's smooth voice sang, "No song that I could sing but I could try for your heart. Our dreams and they are made out of real things like a shoebox of photographs in sepia tone love it." Merlin smiled slightly as he sang the next line, "Love is the answer at least to most of the questions in my heart, like why are we here, and where do we go and how come it's so hard? It's not always easy, and sometimes life can be deceiving."

At the next line Freya joined in with the harmonies and both smiled in unison, "I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together. Hmmm, it's always better when we're together. Yeah, we'll look at 'em stars when we're together, well it's always better when we're together. Yeah it's always better when we're together." Merlin then started to slow the strumming to a stop and they looked at each other, both looking a little bashful and knowing full well the feelings they had for each other it made it that little bit worse.

Merlin quietly cleared his throat, "Umm…Freya, would you…maybe…" He fumbled over the words a little as he spoke, "If you'd like…we could maybe…maybe not…or maybe…or we could…" Merlin frowned, mentally kicking himself for his awkwardness and inability to ask a girl out. Freya giggled lightly causing Merlin's pale face to flush a light red.

"I'd love to Merlin." Freya smiled adoringly at his friend, "Tomorrow? Lunch at, Avalon's Cafe?" She waited for Merlin's nod before saying, "Well I'd better be off." She placed a light kiss on Merlin's cheek, causing him to blush, if possible, even more. She stood up pulling her long teal coat tighter around her, just as she got to the door of the shop she turned and said, "Oh and Merlin, I loved the song…" She smiled and left the shop with a bit of a spring in her step. Merlin on the other hand, was still sat on the stool, his head cocked slightly to the side as he let his fingers run over the place where Freya had kissed him. His face split into a wide grin and he hung up the guitar on the rack before dancing his way out of the shop, humming the rest of Jack Johnsons, 'Better Together' as he went.


End file.
